Chapter 508: Revised: Chapter 508 Submarine Hunter
Paris Ritz Hotel meeting room.
Wells, who had rushed back from the Brest Shipyard, sat quietly in front of the warm fire, waiting for Shire. His eyes were fixed on the dancing flames, and he was absentmindedly swirling a glass of wine in his hand.
Wells had been busy at the shipyard manufacturing landing crafts, amphibious landing ships, and deep water bombs.
Ever since Shire’s successful landing at the Dardanelles Strait, the shipyard had received a large number of orders from around the world, including from Britain and the United States.
The amphibious landing ships, which could operate both on land and sea, had particularly become star equipment.
Wells let out a bewildered chuckle toward the fire. Amphibious landing operations had always been a global challenge, but Shire’s few inventions had easily resolved them.
This was the creativity and vitality the shipyard needed, Wells thought. It was Shire’s innate advantage; he could always come up with simple, practical, and efficient ideas.
Unfortunately, these inventions did not contribute much to the development of the navy. The French Navy continued to struggle in the shadow of the Royal Navy, always lacking presence.
Wells took out his pocket watch and checked it. The appointed time was almost up. What surprise would Shire bring this time?
Just then, the door opened. It was Shire.
Wells quickly put down his wine glass and stood up to greet him. As he turned, he was stunned to see that Shire was not alone. He was accompanied by a scruffy old man with glasses and a goatee.
"Mr. Wells." Shire took the initiative to shake hands and introduced, "This is Professor Fursden. Today’s discussion concerns him."
"Hello, Professor Fursden." Wells politely shook hands with the old man, then glanced at Shire with a wary look.
"Rest assured, Mr. Wells." Shire gestured for everyone to sit at the small table and said casually, "Professor Fursden is a core researcher. I mentioned before that I have my own laboratory and research department."
Wells let out an "oh." He remembered Shire had mentioned it when he provided the torpedo warhead formula.
"So, is it a new torpedo warhead formula?" Wells’s eyes lit up.
"No," Shire shook his head, "it’s an ’Echo Detector.’"
"Echo Detector?" Wells looked puzzled. What was that?
Shire handed over the explanation to Fursden by gesturing toward him.
Fursden, a bit nervous, began to speak hesitantly:
"Yes, the Echo Detector."
"It works by using echoes to detect objects. Sound waves hit a target and are reflected back."
"In a valley, we can clearly sense this by shouting."
"Then, by using the strength and duration of the echoes, we can calculate the exact position of the target."
...
Wells listened, thoroughly confused.
What did this have to do with the navy?
What did it have to do with shipbuilding?
Was he researching how far a steam whistle sound could travel?
Shire rolled his eyes. Fursden had a brilliant mind but a clumsy mouth; he couldn’t focus his explanation on the key points.
Helplessly, Shire took over the topic: "Professor Fursden has invented a device that can detect the position of submarines."
Fursden breathed a sigh of relief and nodded heavily, "Yes."
Wells, whose thoughts were drifting, was suddenly taken aback. He stared wide-eyed at Shire and then at Fursden: "What? Submarines? You can, you can detect submarines? Submarines underwater?"
He then smiled and shook his head: "No, that’s impossible. No one can do that."
Shire seriously nodded, "We did it, just as Professor Fursden said, using echoes."
Wells finally understood that Fursden’s previous "nonsense" was not nonsense at all.
"But, sound? Underwater sound?" Wells still couldn’t believe it. "How could there be sound underwater?"
Many people thought there was no sound underwater; Wells was no exception.
"Of course, there is sound underwater," Fursden found the question perplexing. "Sound only needs a medium. It can travel through air, liquids, and solids, as long as it’s not a vacuum."
As a scientist, Fursden couldn’t imagine the ignorance of capitalists in science, even if one of them was a shipbuilding magnate.
Wells didn’t dwell on this issue. He looked at Shire in amazement and asked with difficulty, as if speaking louder would make the device disappear: "So, this is real? It really exists?"
Shire nodded slightly: "It has already been invented and tested. Now, we need to mass-produce it and equip it on warships."
Wells’s chest heaved violently. He looked at Shire half-believing and asked softly, "Then we can find submarines underwater and use deep water bombs to destroy them, right?"
Shire nodded again.
"Wonderful, Major General, wonderful!" Wells suddenly became excited. "You are simply the savior of France, Major General!"
"This will become a pride of the French Navy, bringing it back to a pivotal position and making it the focal point of the world again!"
...
Shire could understand Wells’s reaction. This kind of groundbreaking invention was like radar; it was beyond ordinary imagination. Initially, many people even thought such technology was some kind of magic.
"I hope General Gephardt will be in charge of this project." Shire said, "Can it be done?"
General Gephardt was the commander of the French Expeditionary Force in the Battle of the Dardanelles Strait, where he diligently helped Shire and Tijani.
But the key point was that Shire believed he had proven his loyalty to the country with his actions.
"No problem," Wells replied confidently, "We have the technology. The Navy will beg us to share it, and they won’t care who is in charge of the project."
Wells then hesitated, "But we currently have no combat needs, Major General. I mean, the British control the ocean..."
"I’ve already spoken to the British," Shire interrupted Wells. "You will cooperate with the British Fleet to hunt German submarines."
Wells was taken aback, then nodded thoughtfully: "Yes, only by participating can we avoid being marginalized and maintain combat strength to show our capabilities. This is the first step for the French Navy toward becoming strong."
Shire silently praised him. Wells had quite an excellent strategic vision, at least better than Tijani, who thought about "the Art of War" all day long.
Shire concluded the discussion with a few final words:
"Professor Fursden will go to the shipyard with you to install the Echo Detectors and be responsible for personnel training."
"Also, I think this equipment is more suitable for destroyers."
Destroyers, with their faster speeds and cheaper costs, were undoubtedly the best choice for hunting submarines.